what the right would do in an actual open and shut slam dunk case in which partisan of the right attempted to kill one of the left. the right would blame the victim. blame him or her for not having brought enough security or for not having brought a gun. good night and good luck. barack obama the score at halftime. let's play hardball.

good evening i'm chris matthews. up in new york leading off tonight a special hardball, obama's america. martin luther king, jr. was born 82 years ago. this week also marks the second anniversary of president obama's inauguration. tonight we cut the president's four year term into two and look coldly at the first half. how is he doing? has the president moved us towards post-racial society. if so how. how is he doing on that acid test of any president the jobless number. how about african-american unemployment and the country's political tone. it better now since tucson? does politics in america still mean naming villains. we look at politics. michael steele just completed two year term as chairman of the republican national committee. u.s. congresswoman donna edwards and eugene robertson a columnist with "the washington post" and msnbc political analyst. i have to start with michael steele.

let's look at this pollster.com poll. it's a compilation of all the polls. the president is up two points since december. he now has an approval number that exceeds his disapproval. what is the state of the obama presidency viewed from the republican national committee that recently you led? >> yeah. it's been an interesting week. i think the way you look at the mr. station now going into the new realities of a speaker boehner republican control of the house, the six additional seats in the senate is the administration really is in transition. it's an opportunity for the administration to lay out an agenda in the state of the union that says how he'll work within this new environment and what kind of partnership he looks to establish with speaker boehner, in particular he doesn't have nancy pelosi in the house

driving the agenda the way she did over the last two years. now it's a different drum beat. the real question is whether or not the president has the mindset to be the kind of leader that people are looking for. >> you force me to ask you a question in return. which is this. to me it's a sack race. you know what a sack race is? run republican leg in, one democratic leg in. do republicans intend to race in a sack whereas the president or standstill? will they run with him? >> i believe they will run with him on certain issues. you know as the congresswoman can tell you the dynamics in the house will be such that there are going to be issues where folks will standstill. the test becomes, the american people want you to keep running in a direction towards job creation and opportunity. will they do that? >> do you think the president will get in the sack race and run with a new partner named john boehner. >> the question there is it depends. right off the bat the republicans are starting off

when we get back on health care. i don't think that's the great message for running in a sack race together. >> your happy that they changed the name from the job killing health care bill to the job destroying health care bill? is that progress? >> it doesn't change the bad critique they have on health care. >> okay. >> gene, you always have a wise view. halftime report. you're in the halftime. you're sitting here. we should be wearing blazers. it's truly a halftime event and my question is does he still have the potential for historic greatness? >> i think he does. halftime report, look at three components of his presidency. look at accomplishments. he managed to keep the economy from falling off the cliff into something like a depression. i think most americans applaud that. he managed to get through comprehensive health care. many americans applaud that but not all. many don't like the way it was done and an increase number like the result. i think in the end that's going

to be a positive for him. and a raft of other progressive legislation that there's solid accomplishments. look at the political realm. the record is much more mixed. the focus on health care clearly cost political support among some segments of the population to the extent that the democrats got creamed in the mid-term elections because it was perceived there was not enough focus on jobs. so, politically he could do better. if you look at the intangibles, i think there's one thing that's really important not talked about a lot. first african-american president, every time he walks out to that helicopter to go to camp david with the first lady, michelle obama, and with the daughters, and the mother-in-law, and you see that family, that african-american family in that role, i think that has an impact.

>> you grew up in south carolina. you're about my age. you feel it. >> i do feel it. i still feel it. sometimes, you know, that image hits you out of the corner of your eye and you look at it and it's riveting, touching and moving. >> i want to get a hard nosed republican on that. to me i think this president has been successful with his legislative agenda. he got his progressive legislation. also on that list is repeal of don't-ask, don't-tell, financial regulatory reform, the auto industry saving it, banning water boarding. dick cheney doesn't like that. most americans do. and s.t.a.r.t. which everybody likes. this nonpolitical thing he's done what you're talking about this historic development, i think when i got in trouble for saying he caused a thrill up my leg because he was talking back in 2004 and 2008 about america. i know republicans get thrills when their guy talks about america and when a progressive that i like and i also like some in 2004 and 2008 about america.

i know republicans get thrills when their guy talks about america and when a progressive that i like and i also like some things about reagan, the progressive way of saying that is saying only in this country is my story possible. this man does accept and love american exceptionalism. i don't know what the right thinks he thinks. doesn't barack obama exemplify exceptionalism. >> you talk about it in the way that americans don't see us as being exceptional. when you go europe and you say well america is about as exceptional as the british are. that's not a good thing for americans to hear by their president on foreign soil. so how that translates back to people is where the president oftentimes gets in trouble with his ideas on exceptionalism and other issues.

>> if we go through his most important thing -- we'll get to this post-racial society, i think that's an extraordinary ambition myself. post-racial meaning it never matters it doesn't influence. do you think it's too much? >> it's a nice good feel thing but i can tell you right now the reality is very different. and so people need to come to the table whether it's in business, politics or whatever, understanding that there are some things about us as a country and a culture where those things are inherent and it will take more than a generational shift from jimmy carter to barack obama. >> donna, you're a practicing politician and you have to get real every two years in a suburban district. you're washington, right? >> that's right. >> how is he doing as head of state? >> i think people actually make a distinction, people in my

district love the president. no question about it. they are also very protective of the president. they understand the historical place that he plays and the role that he plays. they make distinctions on policy so people do want to see movement on employment especially among young african-american. they like health care but they think the president needed to go further. these are important policy distinctions that are quite apart from the president himself. if you look coming out of tucson, what you see is even though the president wasn't engaged in a political message, he actually had the ability to thread and build that american story you talked about. >> let me ask you about the party that you served all these years and i think nobly. i always thought you did a breath job over there and won these special elections, you beat the band in the mid-term. you didn't raise enough money over there.

>> we raised $192 million. >> i'm an expert on watching politics. this is what we do. i go to republican convention and democratic. as a white guy one thing i notice about the difference, one thing i notice about black people at conventions. you go to democratic convention black people are enjoying themselves. they feel very much at home. you go a republican you were told individually don't bunch up. don't get together, you'll scare these people. is that true in the republican party? did you fear if you got together with some other african-americans white guys might get scared of you. >> no. what your talking about? we could have use ad few more brothers in the house no goubt that. >> a difference? >> is there what? >> a difference ethnically how you feel at home? >> i don't know miami you feel. what i try to do. my two years as chairman -- i

try to broaden the landscape. it made a difference imf scott, alan west. so broadening the party's base is important. i made it very clear -- >> are you happy with what you got done? >> i'm very happy. >> donna edwards the democrat says you got a raw deal. >> the president talked from the campaign about getting past our old divisions, our old battle lines that were laid do in the '60s. he talked about it but never really defined the new battle lines he wants us to finalize. i think now after that speech in tucson he has the opportunity once again, a new opportunity to define a new way of looking at our divisions and our

disagreements. and i think that would be a very significant -- >> let's talk more about that. you and i we should talk more about that. >> i think eugene hit a real point. you'll watch the president with his state of the union bring tucson to washington and he's going to do it in a way in which he'll wrap his policies around this idea of a better america with less noise and less dissension. >> we'll have david axelrod speaking for the white house in just a moment. michael steele, i would have voted four. eugene robinson, thank you. and one of my favorite members of congress donna edwards from maryland. david axelrod joins us and talk about the political climate take politics with an expert. it's martin luther king day. obama's america is the name of the show only on .

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>> as we discuss these issues, let each of us do so with a good dose of humility. rather than pointing fingers or assigning blame. let's use this occasion to expand our moral imaginations. to listen to each other more carefully. to sharpen our instincts for empathy. and remind ourselves of all the ways that our hopes and dreams are bound together.

welcome back to our special edition of hardball. that was president obama last wednesday at the tucson memorial service. we're joined by senior white house adviser david axelrod. david always great to have you. i have a tough question for you. next week the president does speak to the country on the state of the union. what, in your mind, is the state of the union right now? >> well, i think the state of the union is good because of the people of this country, chris. the strength of this country are the people of this country, the hardest-working most industrious people. there's so many assets to this country. that's why we're beginning to show progress in our economy and that's why we're going to ultimately overcome the difficulties we've had and prevail in the future and the goal here is to let everybody live out their lives and live out their dreams and get them as far as their talents will allow them.

>> i'm struck by that term humility. it does suggest all of us humility is another word for wisdom. you learn things. one of the things he hasn't learn government can't do a lot. businesses sitting on that $2 billion, the resentment of handling in the last two years, this refusal to go out and invest and create american jobs is the number one hammer over this administration right now and if he meets with these guys he goes the chamber he meets with these people, bring in billy daily, sends these signals on tax cut for everybody is that to try to loosen the hearts, warm the hearts of business so they will start spending a he gets the jobless number down? is that what it's about? >> i don't think those businesses are sitting on $2 trillion to make a political statement. they are sitting on them because they are waiting for the right

time to invest and looking for good opportunities. as this economy strengthens and gains momentum you'll see them get off the sidelines. we'll encourage them to do that, but that's what drives them. their bottom line oriented and the bottom line is the demand there? do these investments make sense. you're beginning to see more and more of that. you're seeing manufacturing growing. you're seeing different signs happening. we want to accelerate that and the president will talk about that later this week and certainly in the state of the union. >> is he going to appeal to business to have more confidence in america or is he going to give them something next week that triggers more economic activity so that his jobless rate guess below nine then eight so he can get re-elected. >> we've gone through a very

difficult time. we're focused on that. we shouldn't forget the tremendous assets that we have as a country, we're the world's largest economy. as i said, we got the most productive workforce. we got the most ingenuity. we got a lot of assets that have sustained us for two centuryies. there's a lot of things we can do to help. doing things that assist that growth. but ultimately the strength of this country lies with its people and we have faith -- the business community should have faith in the american people as well. >> do you in your mind's eye, let's take tissue that was circulating around what happened in tucson not what caused the horror but what circulates around that society, the fight over illegal immigration. do you have in your mind the deal maker that could unite left, right and center and really change and legitimize the

people across the border and fix this problem so right, left and center can agree on a deal? is it in your mind somewhere? >> look, it is certainly in our mind that that is a major challenge that we have to -- >> you don't see a solution? >> we're going to continue -- i'm not sure. we're going to probe. i think that, you know, it wasn't just this terrible tragedy in tucson but you saw it in the lame duck session. i think people understand now the american people have given us republicans and democrats shared responsibilities here and more than anything they want us to work together to solve problems. this is a problem that deserves an answer and we're going to be looking for willing partners and i think we may find more than you think. >> well jfk said problems are manmade. this is a manmade problem. thank you so much david axelrod. when we return the number one issue facing americans, jobs right now. let's talk about president obama, what he has done handling the economy and what he hasn't done. you're watching a special edition of hardball. only on msnbc.

>> i'm one of your middle class americans and i'm exhausted. i'm exhausted defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantel of change i was for and disappointed where we are right now. res squeal ] an accident doesn't have to slow you down. introducing "better car replacement," available only with liberty mutual auto insurance -- if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today.

responsibility. what's your policy?

>> i'm one of your middle class americans and i'm exhausted. i'm exhausted defending you, defending your administration, defending the mantel of change i was for and disappointed where we are right now. >> wow. back to our special. thelma hart from that famous moment. voicing her frustration with unemployment in this country. faced now by millions. is the economy finally picking up and what more does president obama need to do get it morning? thelma hart joins me. and the mayor of detroit, michigan, thank you, sir. detroit is, i think, the image of the de-industrialized america. how are we doing with the big three automakers. are they hiring. >> ford just made an

announcement they will hire another 7,000 people over the next couple of years but that's miniscule to what will happen in the supply industry. as they continue to build inventory and to build for 14 million units, there's going be a lot of employment opportunities in the supply base. >> is that going to reach the inner-city people in detroit itself or is that a suburban opportunity. >> absolutely. a positive impact in detroit. >> how about the other two, gm and chrysler? how are they doing? >> gm is doing very well. chrysler is still iffy but coming along. there's a lot of positive movement in the automotive industry. >> 20 years from now will it be the motor city? >> it will be because the technology that's centered around the city of detroit, with the r and d, universities, engineers are coming out and it's going to be very positive. >> ethical marks there's a new movie coming out.

middle age white guys basically, it's like, kevin costner and tommy lee jones, these guys and chris cooper, the cowboy looking guy they are all oust work, they had jobs 30, 40 years, thrown out of work. as part of down sizing. you're attitude about this whole thing. what do we know? >> what i've learned and what i know in the four months since i've been on television with the president is that things aren't always what they seem. the thing that's been very troubling to me and i was thrilled that you invited us here for this program today, especially on such an important day, martin luther king's birthday and our recognition of that is that there's still a gap. there's a huge gap in race relations, in how we view this president's administration, in

how the congress and the classes of people in the congress will advance -- >> how do you put it together? 16% unemployment. among african-americans. overall the unemployment rate compared to african-americans and latinos the rate is 9%. latinos 13, african-americans 16. most people know this. americans know. african-americans get hurt more than others. >> the data matters. it valid dates it. i did a piece on this issue a couple of months ago. it's a troubling outcome. one of the things i've done as a finance professional and diversity professional in my own career is i believe that if you're going change things from a race relationship standpoint it has to be very deliberate, it has to be absolute. you have to go after it like you're going after a car. and i don't see that type of

effort. i don't see that deliberate nature. we're still talking about unemployment, the economic disadvantages from a race standpoint. from a very generic standpoint. >> your honor, the question is the old democratic way of creating jobs, they created public employment. they come up with something for people to do. demand driven. ninld work for people. put a lot of people on the airline. is that the way obama should go the old liberal way? >> absolutely not. it's about value and the value of proposition. if you don't bring value to the table you ought not be there. so, i was an independent entrepreneur for 29 years, and now that i'm into politics, i even believe in the municipal area, people have to bring value to the table. you cannot just create jobs and give people employment when they are not bringing value. >> absolutely. i just would like to add on to that, the whole objective for all of us is to have meaningful work. not just a job.

>> the divide between the kid who comes out of high schools the kid with a b average or c average. what do we do for the young man who is 18 coming out of school with a b or c average, got through all right, not a troublemaker, was for him today. >> there's lots of things. one of the strategies and my daughter is pretty well -- pretty strong academically. she considered the community college road for her first two years as an easy way to kind of mainstream herself into the college environment and then to go university. it looks like it will be different for her but i think that's a pathway. the military being a veteran myself that's a pathway. there are great opportunities. >> your honor, what do you say when you look at kids coming out of your high school in detroit, not the genius, the regular kids. >> they got to forget about the history of the you a notive

history and manufacturing quite frankly because that industry has changed dramatically, it's down sized, it's global and if you don't have some technology in your education it will be very difficult to get a job. i have a grandson who just finished his first two years in community college and he's trying to figure out what he needs do as a next step because even with a degree from a community college he's not going get a really good job. education is going to be paramount as we think about where he are to where we have to go to be a competitor on the global marketplace. >> the mayor of philadelphia is a friend of mine. he said before he went into office because of the terrible fall of wealth you can teach young men and women really sophisticated state-of-the-art mechanics. not a job with pliers and a screwdriver. are we educating kids with that type of technical knowledge? >> no we're not and that's a problem because once again even

though the industry has shrunk in the united states it's a major player from a global standpoint, and once again coming out of high school or dropping out of high school without a degree where you could get a job historically making $80,000 to $100,000 that day is over. you need to have the extra fwoilt add value and be employable. >> can you go to gm or chrysler or ford and say to the ceos why don't you send around teachers to teach mechanics in our high schools so our kids coming out of detroit high schools will have a chance to work in your companies? >> that is starting to happen. the conversation is under way. >> i want to cover that. >> why just mechanics? >> motor city let's start with that. >> right? >> not every kid wants to do liberal arts. i'm talking about regular people. the a kids will make it.

>> regular kids can have administrative functions. sorry. >> you getting mad at me. i'll take it. you got mad at the president. thank you. when we return the villainization of president obama is it coming to in and? you're watching a special edition of hardball. obama's america only on msnbc.

welcome back to this special edition of hardball.

tonight i want to thank personally liberty mutual. what a great company to give us this opportunity to examine the obama presidency. in the past two years language and images against president obama have been more critical. they will delegitimze him. >> barack obama has one thing in common with god. you know what it is? god doesn't have a birth certificate either. >> why can't the president of the united states produce a birth certificate. >> do you believe barack obama is a legitimate native born american or not? >> this is not what this bill is about? >> what do you believe? >> as far as i know yes. >> as far as you know? i'm showing you his birth certificate. >> joining me right now is michelle bernard who is president of bernard center for women.

and also our princeton professor. let me start with this -- what you just saw. michelle, this starting with this seed of doubt they keep pushing which he's not really legitimate, he shouldn't be there. in fact he's not born in this country. >> actually looking at the video clips it's embarrassing. two years ago we were sitting on the set talking excitedly about living in a post-racial america. i really wanted to believe at that point in time we were truly on the verge of becoming a colorblind society but when you look at these things, when you look at people who make statements i want to take my country back. as a african-american you have to say who do you want to take it back from. who stole it from you. it's embarrassing. it's been a very difficult president is in that perspective. >> you didn't expect his birth

thing. >> absolutely not. >> melissa, thank you for joining us. i've seen you earlier today. is this birther thing essentially an ethnic charge against the president, somebody named barack obama couldn't be an american he has an african name let's play with this thing that he welcome back wasn't born here? >> it's partly that. the fact that it coincides with immigration, about changing the ways in what we count as an american citizen, this discourse on anchor babies, these things are clearly connected but let's be clear they are also connected to economic anxiety. part of what happens typically in the american political history is that whenever the economic pie shrinks, we do an ethnic balkanization. we move to our own corners and start to claim who doesn't have a claim on the american pie and that's part of what's going on here. >> as bad as the economy got under reagan nobody never said

he wasn't an american. you laugh. it's so absurd. this is the thing. michael this, is what's different. no one would say george w. if they thought he had an i.q. of 4 would say he was a 4 i.q. american. they wouldn't question his legitimacy to be here. even if you didn't like the guy you wouldn't deny his legitimacy. 27% of respondents say president obama was born in some other country. among republicans it's almost half. 41% walk around with what they say is a doubt about whether it's legitimate north. i don't trust that. i think they do believe he was born here but don't wish he wasn't. your thought? >> the climate was too vicious in the final two years of what went on under the bush administration. i never liked that heated rhetoric. what wasn't mentioned was the financial aspects. if the true issue is motivating this hostility towards the

president is economy alone and spending which is the purported basis then where were all of those folks in those last two years of the bush administration when by all accounts the spending was out of control. they were no part ivt. what i don't like the cheap shots are taken towards president as there's this self congratulatory, you're a great american, no you're a great american. you're patriot. how can they be patriot was vicious attack job against the commander in chief. by all means have a disagreement about the man but don't cheap shot him to the extent it's going on. >> let's talk about african-americans because it's an irony. i'm a third generation american. my grandparents came from england and ireland. i know where i came from. i had grandmother grew up with a foreign accent. african-americans, most african-americans were born ten

generations ago. they came in the 1600s, 1700s. their americanism is manifest. what do you feel when you hear the word patriot used by somebody against you. >> you know, what i think of is i always want to remind people that large parts of this country were built on the backs of african-americans. >> for free. >> absolutely free. people were brought here in chains and absolutely horrible. when in the history of this country have you ever heard anyone go on the radio or on television and say ronald reagan is only president of the united states because he's white. but people have said barack obama is only president because he's black. if that is true al sharpton would be president of the united states. when does somebody feel it's proper to yell out to the president of the united states from congress you're a liar. you know -- >> let me go back to the professor because this is an academic point. i never heard how beautifully what america is about until i heard it from barack obama.

he was on his way to the presidency after that speech in boston. when he said only in this country is my story possible, it showed people like me wow he finally said what i love about this place. nobody asks who your grandfather is, nobody asks what pedigree you have. they ask can you hit the mark? can you do the job? this is still that kind of a country. barack obama said that. that was so inspiring. so when people say he doesn't understand american exceptionalism, what your guys talking about? >> there's no question here we are on the king holiday and part of what king and president obama share is a unique a built to capture the american narrative. it's often been those at the bottom of the american racial hierarchy who in certain ways

most table articulate it, most able to see its failures and yet speak to its grandness. i want to point out this is hardly the first time we allowed a revision of history and people who were, in fact, traitors to call themselves patriots. this is what happened at the end of reconstruction. >> you heard my commentary. >> it's the redemption moment. the 1877 moment when we decided what to do was to allow the confederacy to rewrite history to fly the confederate flag. >> thank you liberty mutual for letting us talk about this tonight. i wish i had more time. we're all hear the evening busy. up next the role of race in american life. are we moving towards dr. king's dream where we are judged by the content of our character and not the color of our skin.

how close are we getting. i'm opening the question wide. this is special edition hardball. only on msnbc. [ tires squeal ] an accident doesn't have to slow you down. introducing "better car replacement," available only with liberty mutual auto insurance -- if your car's totaled, we give you the money for a car one model year newer. to learn more, visit us today. responsibility. what's your policy?

the election of barack obama

ushered in an era of optimism when it came to race relations. everyone felt it to some extent. how far have we gone towards a post-racial society. we're joined by three msnbc political analysts. jeff johnson, white house correspondent. jonathan capper writes for "the washington post" and teresa is executive director of voting latino. let's listen to president obama's speech. >> i chose to run for president at this moment in history because i believe deeply that we cannot solve the challenges of our time unless we solve them together. unless we perfect our union by understanding that we may have different stories but we hold common hopes. that we may not look the same and may not have come from the same place but we all want to move in the same direction. towards a better future for our children and our grandchildren.

>> there's a stark difference if you look at the polls. look that. a 51% of african-americans believe president obama has helped race relations 9% thinks he hurt. 31% whites think he's helped. john, let me start with you. african-americans as a group feel that something has happened better. maybe it was gene robinson in the first segment talking about just the visual of watching the first family stroll across the south lawn to get on marine one. that does something to people who look like them, gives them a sense of pride. but just by saying you're going to improve race relations jo overnight or two years or four terms or a second term if he gets a second term is naive. problems of race are so fundamental, so woven into the

fabric of this country. it's going to take a lot more and a lot longer than one election to become post racial. >> i was taken by the fact that the first lady, too. she wasn't elected but she's first lady and comes from an african-american background, unlike him. &háhp &hc% thing. your thoughts about that question. why is the black and white verdict different? >> i think for black folks, not have race relations gotten better, it's has race representation gotten better? for them, it is that image of an african-american in the oval office. >> rather than a protestor? >> this isn't about us feeling better about each other. i don't think black people are confused that now white folks like them more because obomb ma is in the white house. >> wasn't it a key matter among african-american voters who were for hillary clinton in the primaries. historically, there was a big shift after white folks in iowa voted for barack obama.

they said wait a minute, this isn't wasting our time. if we vote for barack, with eoar going to win. or could win. >> that was a real political move. we're talking about cultural expression here. and for a large number of african-americans, it was, now there's a different image. but the misnomer have been many put on the shoulders of president obama that he's supposed to be the one that changes race relations, as opposed to the country taking responsibility of using an african-american in the white house as an opportunity to have a different kind of discussion. >> maria, your feelings about -- your thoughts and observations about this? >> i think -- i mean, i think our biggest challenge as a country is to recognize we also have to include in this -- you know, i notice the poll doesn't include american latinos. and they're the second largest population in this country. i can tell you, chris, they're hurting hard.

i think the image of barack obama as president does definitely inspire possibility but close to 43 latinos increase in hate crime since 2003. rhetoric and legislation such as sb-1070, the idea of gutting birthright citizenship from a sector of americans, that's a problem. and american latinos are feeling beaten up and we need to stop 24 idea of racial fatigue in this country and have a real honest conversation on race. >> i want to get back to some things i think about all the time. there is a glass ceiling on black elected officials. they have done very well representing the inner city, representing black areas. there's some areas where you have black officials representing white areas, some. statewide, a frickin' disaster. it hasn't happened. we don't have black u.s. senators or black governors. the senate thing really bothers me. does it bother you? none. >> certainly it bothers me. any group that has a history in this country should be

represented in the u.s. senate. why more african-americans can't seem to break that ceiling -- >> rural white voters have to vote for you. >> you can't just represent one group. you've got to walk a tight rope that's different from one state to another. >> but it's not rocket science. you're not seeing the kind of support from the party to build young african-americans to be prepared for office. >> that's michael steele said. thanks so much. jeff johnson, thanks jonathan and maria, thank you. let me fin wish a correction to the history of this country that so many of us were taught about what was mentioned earlier about reconstruction. you're watching is a special edition of "hardball" obama's -- america. an accident doesn't have to slow you down.

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>> let me finish tonight with a correction of history. remember how we were taught in school about what happened right after the civil war? do you remember the picture we got of the evil carpet baggers who came down from the north to reconstruct the defeated south? do you remember how the freed slaves were elected to office. and how great the white southerners were who ridded them of office returned the south to the old ways? well, this is the picture we got from hollywood, how great the south was before the civil war with its great mansions and aristocracy, how nobel the scarlet o'haras and ashley wilkes were who tried to restore it. years ago i remember president kennedy wondering out loud whether this history we were all

taught was a sham, wondering whether the real were the radical republicans who fought for reconstruction, who insisted the civil war lead to a better life, full citizenship for the freed slaves. well, today's washington post in its lead editorial, raises the same question and answers it. that history we were all given, the "post" argues was not the real history. the truth, the hard truth was that reconstruction was a worthy attempt to build a new south after the heart of the civil war, a south in which the freed slave would have a real opportunity to build an economic life for himself, not just be dumped off the plantation and brought back as a servant or a sharecropper. imagine if the freed slave had gotten 40 acres and a mule that thaddeus stevens proposed. it might have created small farmers and business people engaged in full economic citizenship. a small payment, one could say, for their families hundreds of years of unpaid toil on this land.